This is KGW news at 11. Good
evening, and thanks for joining us tonight.
I'm Joe Raineri, and new tonight,
the Oregon Department of Transportation
has started an ambitious effort
to make thousands of crosswalks
across the state a little safer.
Some will be modified,
some even close to reach that goal.
Art Edwards talked with
ODOT about the project.
Joe. It's all part of the Oregon
Department of Transportation's
ADA and Safe Crossings program.
Work is already underway,
and it will likely last
for more than a year.
Crosswalk safety is a big issue
in the Portland metro area
and across the state. Odot
has a plan to build safe spaces for people
to walk or roll across the state's roads.
This is really all about a very
comprehensive effort to make crosswalks
everywhere safer for everybody involved.
Part of the effort involves making more
than 25,000 crosswalks compliant with
Americans with disability standards.
Others simply need to be made safer,
or in some cases, they'll be closed.
Have to evaluate what the situation
is that each individual crossing.
Odot engineers will evaluate the crosswalks
to decide which crossings are safe
and what needs to be done to improve
them. Things they'll look at include the
number of crashes at an intersection,
have pedestrians or bicyclists
been hit traffic count,
how busy is the intersection?
Whether a person using a
wheelchair can get through,
and is there a pedestrian
signal at the intersection?
High traffic areas
like Barbara Blvd.
will see a lot of intersections.
Evaluated work has already
been done on SE Powell Blvd.
near Cleveland High School in
an effort to make it safer for
students walking in the area.
The process of evaluating and
fixing crosswalks will speed
up in the months to come.
People are going to notice a difference
in their neighborhoods and we hope
the neighbors will understand this
is going to take a little bit,
but we think that people will
recognize this and we'll see that
this is going to make things safer.
Reporting from Portland,
Art Edwards, KGW News.
Police say a man was shot and killed
in Northeast Portland this afternoon
and it happened at NE 1st and Hancock.
That's in the Elliott neighborhood.
Around 2:00 o'clock officers found the
victim dead but no suspects insight.
So far police haven't made any arrests.
This marks Portland's 8th homicide this year.
Meanwhile the case is growing
against a Hillsborough coffee stand.
Owner 61 year old Jeffrey Hebner
was arrested earlier this month
on charges involving sex abuse
and rape involving eight job.
Applicants and employees.
Now prosecutors say 14 more women have
come forward with some similar allegations.
Tim Gordon reports that a judge set
Hebner's bail at $700,000 this week
after hearing the specifics in the case.
This is Jeffrey Hebner in court
on February 1st facing 26 counts
including rape, ****** sex abuse,
public indecency and solicitation.
It all stems from his alleged activity
as the owner of Dreamgirls Espresso,
a bikini barista stand on Tualatin
Valley Highway in Hillsboro.
At the time, police described his
actions from 2015 to November of
last year as a criminal abuse of
power against young women and said
it is likely that there could
be others out there that.
Is telling in court paperwork connected
to a release hearing this week,
prosecutors wrote.
Since this case has been pending,
14 more women have reached out to law
enforcement and the investigation is ongoing.
They also laid out specifics of the
allegations made against Hafner,
much of it too graphic to
describe here fully.
Prosecutors say it started with
job applicants tricked into going
not to the coffee stand but to
Hebner's home for an interview,
where they were informed the
barista job included nudity
and performing in a sexual way.
For customers,
and we're told to disrobe in one
such instance this past November,
prosecutors say D for the defendant offered
Casey shots of liquor and lines of cocaine,
ultimately forcibly touched Casey all over
her body and attempted to rape Casey,
but she was able to physically
block him with her leg.
The 19 year old KC ultimately left and made
a report to police that got the case going.
Prosecutors say the abuse and
exploitation continued for employees.
At the coffee stand,
where several women described the regular
occurrence of naughty coffee orders,
those required them to expose their
bodies and provide a sexual performance
for customers who paid extra fees.
The young women told prosecutors
hundreds of dollars could be made
in a single shift and that Hebner
got a cut of the money and often
got naughty coffees himself.
In conclusion, prosecutors wrote,
Hebner preyed on particularly vulnerable
young women, writing for years.
He believed he was getting away
with horrific acts of sexual abuse.
That he was untouchable.
Now hebner's in jail with bail set
at 700,000. Tim Gordon, KGW news.
Nike is asking the city of
Portland to provide security in
stores in Northeast Portland.
Now, The Oregonian says it's a
letter sent to letter delivered
to the Mayor's office on Thursday.
Nike wants the city to cover the cost
of having off duty police officers
handle security due to a spike
in crime over the last few years.
Late last year,
a KGW investigation analyzed Portland
crime data and found that since 2019,
the store has reported 437
shoplifting cases to police.
The mayor's office told The Oregonian
meetings between Nike and the city are
ongoing as they look to find a solution.
A Prineville family hopes for strength
and healing for their infant twins,
currently in the ICU with RSV.
Despite a statewide decline
in hospitalizations,
the situation for the babies remain serious.
Both are still on ventilators
fighting off pneumonia.
Alma McCarty shares their story.
Two tiny fighters now fighting
a serious respiratory illness.
The twins were born 30 at 32 weeks.
Their actual due date was,
I think, the same day. They were
starting to show symptoms for RSV,
the twins, uncle Ryan Hood explains.
Both Holden and Hartley were
airlifted to the ICU in Portland
from Prineville earlier this week.
The ventilators are taking away the
strain and stress of breathing so
their bodies can focus on healing.
They're both about 6 pounds. Very tiny.
This isn't the twins first time in the NICU.
Hood says they spent about a
month in the hospital in Bend,
only home for about 3 weeks.
Parents Lindsay and Garrett
Puckett now asking for prayers
and support for their babies.
They're very grateful for the
outpouring of love and support
from friends, family and strangers
and just community in general.
Oregon health officials reported
a decline in community spread
of flu and RSV predicting.
A drop in respiratory virus
hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
At this point, they do remain
high as RSV season ramps down,
this family still urges caution and care.
It's very serious and I don't think
the twins hadn't really even left
the house other than appointments,
so it can be very easy to get infected
in North Portland. Alma McCarty, KGW news.
A quick reminder tonight the Morrison
Bridge is closed all week into traffic,
including bikes and pedestrians.
City crews will be painting
and doing some maintenance.
The closure started late last night and
wraps up Monday morning at 5:00 o'clock.